AbeBooks book blog

20 Bookish Benches and Chairs: Time to Sit with a Good Book

I’ve posted before about how I love the upcycling and repurposing of old books. I understand how some people feel taken aback or even hurt when they see books turned into art, or furniture, or decor, but the reality is that those books, once decided they are no longer of value for their original purpose, would be going to live on a farm, where they would have plenty of room to chase rabbits and roll in the clover.

…actually, they would be pulped.

Finding new uses for books saves them from a fate in which they are gone forever to the world, in any recognizable form. These new uses, when they preserve the book in whole or part of its original form, constitute a positive to me. It celebrates books and recognizes that those of us who are passionate about books want to have them around us, and admire their form, shape, and object beauty as much as the ideas and words inside.

I also tend to associate sitting with reading. If I am sitting on a cloth and metal chair in the dentist’s waiting room, a molded plastic seat in an airport, or my own lumpy, squashy couch at home, chances are, there is a book in my hand. So I feel this list of 20 bookish seats is all too beautiful and appropriate. There are book benches, book chairs, and I even saw a few book beds – all kinds of book furniture. Some are made from books, some are a decorative homage to books, and some are simply designed as pieces to house books, but all celebrate the love of reading. Enjoy!